Zippi - for the managing people stuff, if you can't come up with a concrete example of when you've done something similar, then have a really good think about what managing people would mean in real terms, and try to come up with similar tasks,for eg. Managers usually are expected to keep track of their staff's workloads, check in regularly with them to ensure problems are picked up early, do performance appraisals (if the company does them), do the admin relating to things like absences/holidays, recruit new staff if there are vacancies etc. as well as be the general 'go to' person when there are problems.Try to think about how you'd set up systems for this - would you have a weekly one-to-one? or a team meeting? If you can talk confidently about the practicalities of doing this part of the job, then you can probably convince them you're up to it even without having past experience of it.

Good luck - don't talk yourself out of being able to do this, they obviously think you've got something to offer, they're not interviewing you just for kicks

The job description probably describes the essential competencies required for the job, does it? If so, you need to demonstrate that you have these, actually, hang on, shall I copy and paste a report I wrote recently on competency based interviews?

The interviewer will be looking for specific examples of what you did in particular situations.You can choose to use relevant examples from your current job, a previous role, or a situation outside of work altogether and it is likely that you will be asked to discuss the example in some detail.It is also likely that the interviewers will then follow with a number of questions, possibly clarifying a specific area. They will be interested in the outcome of the situation, what results were achieved and whether there was anything you learned from the experience, etc etc. When talking about these experiences it may be helpful to use the STAR format. It is a simple and effective way of organising your thoughts:S - Situation T - TaskA - Action you tookR - ResultThis should help you to put your experiences into a meaningful context, helping you decide what qualities your examples can show and to express them effectively. Also, focus on your own role and try to resist the temptation to talk in terms of we and us.Competency interviews are designed to show the interviewer how you can fulfil the job in question. The prime concern is to find out as much as possible about your qualities. You can bring notes with you to your interview and will be encouraged to take time to consider your answers before giving them. You may also jump back to previous questions if you remember a point you feel is relevant.

Common categories and examples of areas which Competency Based Interview may cover are:1. Organisational awareness2. Communication3. Employer and/or Client/Customer focus4. Professional relationships5. Teamwork/Management6. Time Management

And, for supervisory or management roles:

7. Strategic thinking8. Leadership ability9. Innovation

Competencies in more detail: Please see below for examples of the type of questions which may be asked around each of the common competencies:

Organisational awareness Describe the structure of your company and give an example of how you work within this culture to achieve a personal / professional goal? Describe how you perceive our company - how you would adapt to this culture?

Communication How do you keep your colleagues and managers informed about difficult issues that directly affect them? Give an example of a difficult or sensitive situation that required you to use excellent communication skills? Give an example of how you have developed your communication skills

Employer and/or Client/Customer focus Give an example of how you provided a service or customer experience beyond expectations. How did you identify this need? What was the reaction?

Professional relationships Describe how you develop and maintain professional relationships

Teamwork/Management Describe a situation in which you were a member of a team. What did you do to make a positive contribution to the team? Describe a situation where there was conflict within the team and how you managed to resolved it.

Time management How do you plan your time and prioritise? Give a specific example of a time when you failed to complete a task or project on time How did this outcome affect your company? What could you have done differently? How has that experience affected the way you deal with deadlines now?

And for managerial/supervisory roles:

Strategic thinking Describe your most challenging assignment or project and what you changed to adapt to that scenario? How did you go about assessing your own performance within this assignment or project?

Leadership ability Describe how you led a team (comprising trainees, juniors and seniors) through a difficult process. How did you improve their work? Describe a situation where you had to take charge either with your own team.

Innovation Describe something you have done that was new for your company that improved the performance of your team or the value of the work done Have you done anything innovative that would be of direct interest to your employers or clients/customers and that enhanced awareness of your company?

So, Zippi, you need to think of examples that show you have the required competencies in each of these areas:

a.3 years management experience in retail or mail orderYou've had your own website and shop haven't you?

b.managing staff teamsHave you ever had anyone working for you? If not, agree with poster who said you need to think about how you would manage any team. Also think about how you would describe your management style if asked.

c.financial skillsSo understanding about costs and profit and margin, which I'm sure you did.

d.familiarity with recording purchasing stock control systemsSo think about how you kept control of your stock for your onlines business. And how you would do so for their business

e.computer literate word excel and powerpointeasy peasy

f.communication skillsshould be fine

g.eye for design knowledge of print and design processesDon't know if you've got this but talk about any stuff you did for your busines

h.set budgets and business targetsAgain, go back to what your budgets were for your own business. And think about how you work out targets

i. work under pressuredon't know about what pressure you've dealt with but think of examples